Lights up
I am new to John Mayer & have bought this DVD on the back of his performances on the 2 'Crossroads' DVDs.
It's a bit difficult to categorize Mayer as although he is undoubtedly a very accomplished guitarist he does not seem to highlight his own playing very much. Rather he seems to throw his real efforts into his singing which, as has already been noted, is very Stevie Ray Vaughan in quality, so that his guitar work seems to come second in his priorities. A shame as he really has some talent that works equally well when unleashed & raw,(his work on 'Who did you think I was' is really very impressive), or when stripped down to the bone in the quite beautiful & moving cover of Tom Pettys' 'Freefalling' with just mayer, an acoustic guitar & 2 others providing contrast & harmonies.
Not everything works here. Although the offstage footage may be of interest to Mayers fans it detracts from the concert feel & quite frankly he is a bit of a pretentious 'artiste',(his getting the hump with the papparazzi- what did you expect? Then his 'oooh which of my ever so expensive watches shall I choose to wear on stage?' bit was immature & crass),. A shame as quite frankly I didn't buy this to get to know the guy but just to watch a concert. Also the idea of splitting everything into 3 separate sections is just too awkward & stagey. Just get out there & play, some acoustic, some as a 3 piece, some as the whole band, don't make a big thing of it.
The moans aside this is still a 5 star DVD because when Mayer gets it right he is superb, touching & vulnerable,(he is obviously very grateful to his fans & treats them with respect & thanks), with a soulful voice & a deft touch with the guitar. His choice of accompanying musicians is also spot on.
The DVD is simply but effectively shot with a slightly grainy finish which helps with the 'live' feel. The sound is very well mixed with the audience placed firmly behind the listener & a very open soundstage that really lets each instrument sound out loud & clear & as separate from the others while none are allowed to drown out Mayers voice which is locked firmly & clearly in the centre.
A lot of tracks, some extra footage & a variety of playing styles mean that this is a great place to start if you are curious as to what the fuss about Mayer is all about. This is great value for money & leaves the viewer in no doubt that although still developing, there is a real talent on display.

Quite brilliant - very possibly the next 'big thing' in the guitar playing world!
I have been listening to John Mayer since his earliest years as a professional player, having happened upon him by chance on the internet and of course, more prominently, as a guest of Eric Clapton, at the great man's Crossroads guitar festivals. In the first of these, he struck me as a seemingly pleasant guy, who was clearly influenced first and foremost by Stevie Ray Vaughan and to my mind, offered an impressive interpretation, as did his contemporaries such as Kenny Wayne Shepperd.

However, this DVD showcases a very different John Mayer, who seems to have come of age as a player and no question about it, the 'SRV clone' tag is long-gone. Whilst he still pays homage to his heroes, it's clear that he has evolved dramatically to his own playing identity: melodic but very bluesy, with great technique, feel & dynamics, ranging from the gentle to the full-on, hard-hitting stuff, his soloing is very tasteful and always approrpriate to the song in hand: he could never be accused of over-cooking it as many others do. Also, he is without question a far better vocalist than any of those who have influenced him.

The DVD shows 3 sides of JM, starting with an acoustic set, which proves he is no slouch with a Martin, with some immensely skillful and sensitive playing which, to be honest, I didn't think he had in him. Its quite an emotional and soulful set, brilliantly sung as well, which will have the 'folkeys' amongst us drooling. The blues trio is a sign of where John may be headed in the future - lots of blues and jazz flavours, which combined with a world-class rythm section, is as tight as tight gets. Could do with loosing the suits, though.. The full-band set follows which showcases his pop-inclinations, but there's plenty of blues in there.

The common factors which unify all three sets is bluesy-soulful music, tastefully arranged, stellar musicianship all round and John's vocal performances which are as impressive as his guitar playing. I have this DVD on in the kitchen regularly and even non-guitar-folk are stopped in their tracks by this guy's ability to carry a tune.

Commenting on a couple of points made by other reviewers, suggesting he should 'shut up and concentrate on playing' is a bit unfair - the interviews are very short, they barely take up space on the DVD and wouldn't decribe them as 'insufferable.' Yes, JM does have a strong personality and has a bit of an ego (though not too bad - he'd never get into Guns & Roses for example...). He maybe isn't the most mature 30-year-old you'll ever see, but people shouldn't expect a younger guitar-touting version of Cliff Richard. He's become very wealthy, his career as taken off meteorically in the US and he's on the verge of large scale popularity and he's becoming prized gossip-column fodder, so of course he's going to have a bit of attitude and spark about him. But then, he has a self-deprecating and sharp sense of humour (just check YouTube!) and he's obviously a very well-mannered guy who never misses an opportunity to thank his fans, which seems gracious and sincerely meant.

As for comparing him to Larry Carlton, as a serious-minded guitarist myself, Carlton is my all-time hero, so quite relate to that, but its missing the point - Larry is a brilliant world-renown instrumentalist, the guitar-player's guitar player, whereas Mayer could be that in time (if he keeps his head straight), but is more of a front-man personality. Also, lets not forget that Larry is twice his age!

So this is a great DVD which shows a young guy at an important stage in his journey, hopefully he'll keep it on the straight & narrow and if he does, he will be the next big thing certainly in the guitar playing world. As one magazine has commented, he seems to have it all. The rest is up to him, but somehow, don't think he'll disappoint. Guitar players and just live music fans alike will surely love this DVD.

He should shut up and stick to playing
Difficult. Great guitar work but only in small doses for me because it is interspersed with insufferable interviews - Mayer undoubtedly has great talent but humility is not apparently one of his qualities. I generally prefer music DVDs to CDs but in this case it is the other way round. For a role model of a true guitar wizard who remains very humble and I would imagine very approachable look no further than Mr 335, Larry Carlton.

Guitar/muso heaven
I've slowly got into john mayer over the last year or so, being introduced to him by guitar students. there's so much good about this.

for any musician of my generation pino paladino and robbie macintosh are well known. Real quality pedigrees. for those of you that don't know the names, they've played with everyone...and the reason is they're perfect. Each of the band line-ups present a lesson in how to play the right parts for the song. Which is why paladino and mackintosh, and the others got their jobs.

mayer's own guitar playing is of such good quality, referencing any great guitarist, including SRV, Clapton, Even a little of Beck. His song writing is great quality. (i transcribed Neon for a student, and it still takes me an age to work it up, and then trying to sing to...oh dear).

The bad bits - ok...at times the 3 piece section sounds like his voice and playing are too SRV. but imo he rescues it with some great mayfield/hendrix rhythm playing.

Er...he's too handsome.

If you like guitar playing, have an open mind, and want to hear someone completely classy - get this.

Trevor

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